Gitaroo Man: Resurrection
by EspiratheAwesome
Summary: Just when Planet Gitaroo finds peace, a new but familiar threat appears and she wants to "resurrect" a foe no one wanted to see again. This time, little U-1 has to rely more on his allies than himself, but will it be enough?
1. Chapter 1

It was warm and sunny out. The citizens of Planet Gitaroo have never seen it so beautiful out for a long, long time, and they finally had the freedom to roam about, to shop, or to spend time with friends and family. They all have been enslaved by Zowie and the Gravillians for so long they almost forgot the taste of freedom. It had been almost a decade since the fall of the Great Prince, and the inhabitants were much to busy rebuilding what used to be an empire into new cities, towns, and villages to actually enjoy themselves. The town that used to be Zowie's headquarters was now abandoned, its past considered too scarring to rebuild into anything, so it was now a ghost town. Even the Great Cathedral, which was considered the greatest thing the people of Planet Gitaroo have ever made, was gathering dust and slowly crumbling.

Miranda, now with Zowie gone, reclaimed his title as the most experienced and most powerful Gitalline, the only one to possibly beat him was Gitaroo Man himself and Kirah could put up a fight against him if given the chance. However, she was the only thing that was left of the Gravillians, and she feared every day that she might be exiled from the new city, and as a result, she was in hiding in the ghost town that once used to be where Zowie proclaimed his dominance, training every day to get stronger and stronger or waiting for Gitaroo Man to arrive once more, and she did that for years. However upset she was that he was gone, she never lost hope of his arrival, though many others did. She wondered continuously where he went, what planet he might have took his rest, or maybe he and his dog went to finish off Zowie to make _sure_ he would never return. She did not know, nor did she care, she just wanted to see him again, he was the only person who saw the light in her darkest of times, and he only arrived when there was havoc or trouble, and so far, Planet Gitaroo has been very peaceful. Miranda was the only one who knew of Kirah's hiding place, and frequently checked on her to see if she was alright. Today just happened to be one of those days.

"Getting better?" he asked her as he walked slowly through the large metal gates, he was not as vivid and lively as he used to be, even when he was enslaved his healthy status still showed, however that was years ago, and even great Gitallines like himself have to age and grow older. Kirah was now a full-grown adult, and she was still almost as powerful as Gitaroo Man, but even though, she still wanted to get stronger and stronger, for she felt that she was still powerless, she was always told that when she was little and raised by Zowie, and it has been ingrained in her mind ever since.

"I don't feel stronger," she replied as she looked up at the Great Cathedral, "in fact, I feel the same as I was ten years ago. I don't get it! What am I doing wrong?"

"You are not doing anything wrong, Kirah," Miranda corrected as he continued to make his way next to her, "you never did, you only _think_ you did, and that's the problem." Miranda could see something in her eyes "Is anything troubling you?"

Kirah sighed sadly, "...I miss him..."

He pat her on the back with his cane gently, for his hands could not reach, "We all do, Kirah. You are not the only one. He has not forgotten about us, and he has _certainly_ not forgotten about you. He will return when we are in danger yet again, though I hardly see that happening, no threat has come to us yet."

"Well that I'm glad for," she said as she lowered her Gitaroo, "I still really would like to see him, at least just once."

Miranda smiled, "You'll get your chance, keep your hopes up, you've been doing a wonderful job in perseverance. You will see him soon, I know it.

Kirah smiled. Maybe he was right, there was no way Gitaroo Man would forget her, not after all they went through, and almost throwing his life away for her sake. She looked up into the sky, it was full of stars that glittered the blackness of the night. Kirah smiled contently.

"Now, I was just about to visit a friend of mine in time for dinner. Would you like to come with me? You need a break, I can tell by the fatigue in your Gitaroo."

Kirah looked at her Gitaroo. It was dimming slightly and giving off small bright flashes to try and keep itself active and alive, and since a Gitaroo can react towards a person's emotions, that meant that she was feeling the exact same way. She nodded yes and walked with the old man out of the town.

Meanwhile, a flimsy looking man with large, rounded glasses and dark hair entered the Great Cathedral once Miranda and Kirah left. He opened the doors, which gave off a loud creak when opening, and slowly walked in. Immediately he felt as if someone was watching him with intense insanity. He went to the end of the cathedral and fished around for something around the podium, coughing loudly when a bunch of dust flew in his face from his searches. He then suddenly found a small strand of light blue hair, which gave off a white highlight when he walked over to the middle of the cathedral and shined it in the holy-looking beam of light. Suddenly, he heard someone walk into the room, it sounded like it was coming from the higher level.

"What are you doing?" the voice sounded calm but snobby, smooth but forceful. It was obvious that whoever he was, he was not happy about the sudden intrusion, you could tell in his eyes. It was the only thing you could see were his eyes, and the only thing you could hear was his slow, shallow breathing.

"I..I was looking for...I need something from here. Forgive me for intruding, I shall leave you alone..." he took one step and then heard a loud _ka-chunk_ from the cathedral's doors. It locked all by itself...Or did it?

"Mama told me not to let you go..."

The giant "Z" symbol from up above, which towered over everything in the cathedral by its menacing glow was ready to fire. The man giggled creepily, his smile could be seen in the darkness.

"I only do what Mama tells me to...In return, she made me who I am..."

A lightning bolt crashed into one of the lightning rods on the cathedral, giving off who he truly was through the light that came in the room. His smug smile turned into one of pure insanity.

"Beautiful."

He pointed at the man and the "Z" light shot down. The man yelped and ran from it with all his strength. Multiple "Z" shaped laser beams crashed down on the floors, but yet no mark was made, not even a burn, on them, as the man successfully ran from them and, in his fright, went for the door…However, in his attempt to pry open the doors, one of the Angels used their arrow to not fire a Gitaroo beam, but to shoot him right in the back. Once confirmed dead, the rest of the Angels took him out of the Great Cathedral and threw him in the ocean before immediately returning to their home to turn to stone once more.

The enigmatic man brushed away the white hair in front of his face as he shut down the cathedral, leaving him in pitch blackness. He sat down, letting his thin and agile legs hang down on the edge of the higher floor, the giant organ right behind him. As he sat there, he started to hum a lullaby which echoed throughout the entire cathedral.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey, U-1. You think you can pick up some donuts while you're out?" a small, black and white talking beagle said while watching the latest episode of "Drama King", a popular soap opera TV show. The owner of this dog, U-1, or Uichi, as he is sometimes called, was much older now. Twenty-five years old, he had yet to get a job for fear that Lord forbid his home planet needed help, he would have to rush out of his work to go there immediately. Even though he was ten years older, nothing really changed about him, except the fact he was much more confident, though still a little nervous. Physically, he looked just like his alter-ego, Gitaroo Man, without his android-like uniform, he also had a small beard stubble. Puma, his lovable little sidekick, did not change at all despite it being a decade, he was not able to age for he was a robot disguised as an Earth dog. He was the same, smart-alecky, donut-loving pup U-1 always knew.

"Sure. Regular glazed like always, right?" he said as he grabbed his jacket and put it on. The pup nodded without even looking at the screen. U-1 grabbed his keys and walked out the door, locking it behind him. An hour passed, Puma's favorite show was over, and he was getting quite bored, he always was bored easily when his best buddy was not around. He sighed out of monotony, desperate for something to do. He shut off all the lights and left U-1's room, however, something pinged in his mind that gave him the urge to check on his home planet. Going back into U-1's room with the lights still turned off, he started to link a transmission between where he was and where Miranda was.

"**STARTING TRANSMISSION**" was what he saw in his eyes while he was forming a connection. Suddenly, his head started to pound a bit, meaning that the transmission was successful.

"**LINKING TRANSMISSION: AC30/MIRANDA**"

"**TRANSMISSION SUCCESSFUL. COMMUNTICATING...**"

His eyes widened and out came a projector, which soon had Miranda right there in the middle of the white fuzzy screen.

"Do my eyes deceive me?" he said, his voice a lower quality from the projector. Puma shook his head, "They don't! It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Too long!" he exclaimed happily, "You haven't changed a bit since I last saw you!" he took a look around, "Where is U-1?"

"He's out. Gettin' me donuts and.. doing other things, I don't know. All I heard was "donuts,"

"I see." Miranda replied, "Now why have you called in this time of day?"

Puma shrugged to the best of his ability, "I'm not really sure. I felt an urge to call over, is everything alright? Because I normally never get an urge this bad to check on you and the Gitallines."

"Everything is peachy-keen, my good pooch!" the elder said, "However, Miss Kirah does miss Gitaroo Man terribly. She wishes that he could come visit for once, if not to see her than to see the city that's developing!"

"The Gitallines have made a city?"

"Well, almost. It's very close to being done, just a couple of buildings here and there," Miranda replied.

"I still can't believe they actually built a city in such a short notice. What about..._that_ place?"

Miranda shuddered a bit, "Oh yes...It is now a ghost town. Kirah visits the area from time to time to practice her Gitaroo more, hoping to get stronger,"

"But she's one of the strongest Gitaroo warriors besides you and Gitaroo Man!"

Miranda sighed at Puma's remark, "And I wish she could believe that, but every day I see her practice on the crumbling towers we used to be held captive in, and she never feels stronger, she would always tell me. I think with Gitaroo Man not here, it's made her lose a little bit of her own confidence," Puma was a little worried when he heard this. Kirah, of all people, losing her confidence? What was the world coming to?

Meanwhile, U-1 was at the grocery store, getting all of his necessary items from bread to butter, probably one of the only times he would really go out somewhere and spend money, he wanted to save up for something nice, but his mom, who was almost never around, always had the time to write him a grocery list. Sigh. However, when he was about to grab the donuts for his man's best friend, he felt a small shock in his head, like someone just punched him in the temple. Shaking it off, he grabbed the donuts and walked away. He felt it again, and this time he saw a split second of someone's eyes, as red as rubies, and its glare as sharp as knives. The pain got a little worse after that. He rubbed his head and made his way to the checkout counter, as he was waiting for his turn to pay, he heard an unfamiliar voice call out to him.

_ Gitaroo Man..._

Shocked, he looked around and checked if there were no threats around him. Puma was not here, and he was too far away to call out to him, so right now, he was defenseless. He wondered who was talking to him, though. No one on Earth knew who he was, not even Pico nor Kazuya (not that he _wanted_ them to know), so who was it? When his turn came to check out, he tried to concentrate on paying, but his mind was somewhere else. He was really confused as to why he had these recent flashes of headaches and illusions. Better yet, _why_ was he getting them? He did not have these usually, so why should now be different? Maybe Puma would know, he obviously seemed to know a whole lot more than he did about these kinds of things.

He walked out of the store, it was almost night time, and Puma was probably impatiently waiting for him.

"Puma, I'm back!" he said while opening the door, "Sorry I made you wait, the lines were long, and Mom gave me a huge list, and-" he was cut short when he saw his dog wrapping up a meeting with Miranda. Kirah had gone away to train some more.

"Farewell, little pup! When you see U-1, tell him I said "hi!" Miranda happily said, Puma nodded and barked in joy, "Same here, old-timer! Bye!" and then turned off his projection. U-1 still was not used to Puma doing all of that weird stuff while he was still disguised as a dog, but he was even _more_ surprised to see him actually talking to Miranda after ten years! He put the bags down and went in his room, "Puma... Was that Miranda?" he asked him, even though he knew the answer already. Puma turned around, and instead of answering him, said, "Finally! I thought you would never come back and I would be left donut-less!" he woofed happily, though it did not answer his question, he knew Puma would never talk to him about anything unless he got what he wanted, in this case, a warm, glazed donut. He got the box of his dog's favorite food out, opened it, and gave it to him. After he munched on a couple donuts, he finally answered.

"Yep, but I didn't call just to say "hi", I needed to call them, for some reason. I felt that something was wrong over there, but it seems as if everything's okay," he munched on another donut, "Oh, and Miranda says hi."

"So you had something strange happen to you, too?" U-1 asked, "When I was getting your treats, I had three headache episodes; one was just a headache, the other, I actually saw a pair of eyes stare at me, even for a split-second, and the third...Someone was calling out to me..."

Puma looked worried, the box of donuts were already gone, "This seems serious. I don't even think we had something like this when we were facing Zowie, but then again, you were a little inexperienced at the time," Puma muttered, "However...Not even _I_ had those bouts of anxiety when Zowie reigned..." he spoke up towards his owner, "We got to be careful, I'll be calling Miranda more often now, there seems to be some sort of trouble that no one else but us knows about, and I want to find out what it is as soon as possible."

U-1 nodded and then yawned, "I agree, but right now, it's really late. We should both hit the sack," he grabbed some night clothes from his closet and went in the bathroom to change. Puma sighed, he really hoped everything was alright back at Planet Gitaroo. He missed his hometown very much.

Night fell on Planet Gitaroo, and the scientist who invaded the Great Cathedral walked towards the beach where U-1 first landed on this planet, and met up with a sinister but familiar black cat, who sat on a branch of the only tree on the beach.

"No wonder Zowie never hired scientists, they always fail," she hissed, "If I don't get at least a single strand of my master's DNA, I'll never track his location in space, making bringing him back a lot more difficult than it already is, and with _him_," at "him" she looked up at the top of the island where the Great Cathedral was located, "still alive, it's making this mission impossible, mew." she jumped down off the branch of the tree and continued to look up at the cathedral, "I mean, I tried going in there once. I have never seen a person so insane." the cat slowly walked forwards, "It was like he dismissed everything in his brain and replaced it with one command: kill." the black cat's eyes widened; she thought of something so risky but so worth it that she _had_ to try it out, "Kill, huh? Heheheh, if he wants to kill so bad, I have a plan that will make Zowie's resurrection so much more interesting for that Gitaroo Man..." with this plan, she began to run towards the base, towards the Great Cathedral, fully believing that this plan would be _foolproof_.

11:00 at night, and U-1 could not sleep to save his life, still thinking about the episodes he had at the grocery store, he worried if he would have the headaches again.

"Puma?" he whispered as he peered down next to his bed to where Puma usually slept, "Hey, buddy, you awake?"

"Barely," the dog replied as he turned to face his owner, "I keep on getting weird feelings in my gut, like something bad is going to happen. I tried blaming it on the donuts you gave me, but I don't think that's it." he jumped on U-1's bed and sat right next to him, "Tomorrow, we gotta go and see what's up, whatever is happening, Planet Gitaroo needs us."

"True, but I find that hard to believe. That place has been crime free for years, the last time Miranda called, he was at a party and had a lampshade on his head, apparently he had too much Gitaroo Alcohol or something." U-1 turned his back on Puma, "but it would be nice to go there and see what changed and Miranda and-"

"...and Kirah?" Puma interrupted.

U-1 sighed, a little sad that he left Kirah alone for all these years, "Yeah...and Kirah...who probably hates me for leaving her or something..."

"Actually, when I talked to Miranda this afternoon, he said she misses you a _lot_."

"Really?" U-1 asked, then chuckled, "All the more reason to go, I guess."

Puma looked at the alarm clock next to U-1's bed, it was 11:45, way too late for them to be talking, "We gotta sleep, buddy," he said.

"Yeah...goodnight, Puma." U-1 replied as he closed his eyes and finally went to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

U-1 woke up in a room, pitch black, unable to see anything. He felt a helmet on his head and knew instantly he was Gitaroo Man, but why? He groped around, trying to see with his hands, until he bumped into something that appeared to be glass. He followed the glass wall with his hand on it so he did not lose track of where it was. Suddenly, he heard a familiar yelp.

"U-1! U-1! HELP!"

"Puma!" he let go of the glass wall and ran as fast as he could, following the whines of his beloved dog. He knew he was getting closer when the crying got louder, but as soon as it got loud enough for him to know he arrived, he heard a metallic _clank_.

"P-Puma?"

Suddenly, a spotlight flashed on Puma, in his AC30 form, on the ground motionless. Horrified, U-1 walked to his side and picked him up. He was deactivated, everything erased.

"Puma! Puma, wake up!" U-1 sobbed, "Wake up...please..."

He heard the sour note of a Gitaroo and immediately felt a Gitaroo beam hit him right in the head, any harder and it would have rendered him unconscious or worse. He got up, afraid knowing that his pal was gone, and probably his Gitaroo along with it, but...if he was "deactivated", he should have turned back to his regular self, unless...

He saw his Gitaroo flash in front of him. Nervous, he reached out to grab it, and battle whoever messed with Puma, but as soon as his hand touched his weapon, he felt a burning shock, and drew back his hand in pain. He saw a silhouette on the neck of the Gitaroo that looked like a hand. Someone was holding it.

"Hey, you!" U-1 exclaimed, "Who are you? Show yourself!" his voice trembled, but he tried to act strong. The Gitaroo got closer and the figure kneeled down. The light on the Gitaroo flashed and U-1 saw who it really was.

"Zowie? No...NO!"

Zowie aimed the Gitaroo at U-1, and strummed another sour note, the light was blinding.

"AAAAHHHHHH! AH! AH!"

"U-1, _wake up!_"

"AHH! AAAH!"

"Hey!" U-1 felt a paw bop on his head, cold with sweat, "Wake up!"

U-1 opened his eyes and got up, he was in his bed, in his room, both he and Puma alive. It was a dream.

"Had another bad dream again?"

Well, this felt awkward, "...Yes."

"Was Zowie in it?"

"...Yeah."

Puma sighed, "Well, I don't blame you, his ugly mug can give _me_ nightmares sometimes..."

"Puma, it wasn't about his 'ugly mug', this week is the first time in years that I actually had a dream like this. The last time I remember was when I was sleeping with Kirah under the tree, ever since then, it's been alright until now."

If Puma could shrug, he would, because he had no idea himself, "Well, maybe a visit to Pico's flower shop will get this anxiety out of ya. C'mon and get dressed, it feels wrong to see you with a shirt off."

U-1 blushed at that comment, but did as he said.

After getting dressed and eating breakfast, he and Puma leisurely walked to Pico's flower shop, the Gitaroo hero trying to get that dream out, once or twice, Puma would step on one of his toes to get him out of his head, it would work sometimes, but other times it would just cause pain to his feet.

"I know you're kinda nervous about what happened yesterday and last night in your dreams, but rub it off for now. Last thing you want is for Pico to worry."

"I know, I know," U-1 replied, knowing full well that, if Pico worries, she gets a little clumsy trying to help with whatever you needed or wanted, and they were going to her flower shop, and God knows the ways you could utterly destroy a store like that through being a klutz.

Though this was being thought by the same person who _still_ could not stand on a skateboard after years and years of trying, and at one point almost took down a few plants up on top of a shelf when he was trying to catch himself. Needless to say, Pico was not exactly cheerful about that event.

"But we're only going to be there for a short time," U-1 said to Puma, "then it's straight to Planet Gitaroo." He smiled, "I can't wait to see Kirah, I miss her so much!"

"Miss who?"

U-1 gulped, in seconds flat he found his favorite hat swiped from his head, the sound of a skateboard zooming past as it happened.

"Hey, Kazuya, give me back my hat!" U-1 exclaimed, a little startled about the sudden intrusion.

"Or what, you gonna air guitar me to death?" he tossed the hat back at him, "now, who's this Kirah that you're missing and such? Someone I should know about?"

Oh boy, how was he going to get out of this one? He sure wished Kazuya knew Puma could talk, because he was on his own right now.

"Kirah...she's my... Older cousin! Yeah, I haven't seen her in years. She and I do everything together!"

That was the worst lie Kazuya had ever heard, but there was no use in trying to be nosy, so he just nodded his head, "Where're you heading off to at this time?"

U-1 felt cold, Kazuya was older than he was, and his voice was deeper, too. He sounded almost exactly like Zowie, and it was making him nervous, "T-t-to Pico's of course! I figured I should pay her a visit and...stuff."

Kazuya laughed, "What a coincidence, I was going over there myself," he smirked, "How about we walk together, _pal_?" he said as he skated right next to him and slapped him on the back. Yeah, great, it was like walking with Zowie over to Kirah's house, it felt _wrong_.

"Yeah, sure."

He was so glad they only had one more block to go until they reached Pico's shop, and when they arrived, they were greeted with happy J-pop and a strong scent of flowers everywhere. On the door it had the sign "Come in on other side." Doing what they were told, Kazuya, U-1, and Puma were sprayed with hose water.

"Oh, I'm sorry, boys!" Pico said while turning the hose off, "I wasn't thinking, just listening to this wonderful music."

Kazuya attempted to block that spray with his skateboard, but failed miserably, "It's alright, Pico..."

U-1 had nothing to shield him with, and was more drenched than the skateboarder was, he groaned, now freezing cold and glaring at the dry and happy Puma who used his own best friend as a shield, barking at him as if to be a tease.

Pico gave them both towels, "So, what brings you guys here? Not to buy flowers, I'm sure," she giggled.

"Well, I saw this," at 'this', Kazuya put a hand on U-1's head, "roaming around the streets attempting to navigate to your shop without my help, and Lord knows I'm the only one who knows how to get to your shop blindfolded while walking backwards, so I decided to drag him over here."

U-1 was not amused and rolled his eyes, "I know my way to her shop, thank you very much."

"Sure you do, I bet you're good at skateboarding, too."

Pico sprayed Kazuya and U-1 with water again, "Hey, enough, you two. You're acting like kids."

The doorbell in the shop rang, a customer arrived.

"Hey, Kazuya, could you get that, please? I would, but I'm all muddy," Pico giggled sheepishly. Kazuya did not want to be sprayed again, so he obeyed.

U-1 could not believe it, he and Pico were actually _alone_! He was going to cherish this moment until Puma threw a rock at him to get his attention. His head now hurting, he glared at Puma as the pup motioned him to come closer.

"What is it?" U-1 whispered. Puma smirked and gave him a letter.

"It's for you, Mr. Charmer."

Confused, U-1 opened the letter and read it.

_Dear Gitaroo Man,_

_ I don't know if you'll get this, maybe you're too busy with things on earth or whatnot, but I'm just writing to say that I miss you, I know you're only going to come over here if there's trouble. If that was the case, then I wish that something would happen just so you can leave for Planet Gitaroo. The people here think you've forgotten about them, and I feel I'm the only one who still has some hope left in them that you'll return. _

_ Well, don't worry about it too much. I know you don't have a lot of time on your hands. Goodbye, Gitaroo Man, please reply._

_ Lo- Sincerely,_

_ Kirah._

U-1 noticed that she scribbled out the word "love" out and chuckled, but he did feel bad.

"Hey, Puma, we gotta go."

"Well, we would if the Woofer-Jet stops screwing around on me when I try to turn it on. Last time I did, I shook, I heard laughing, and then I blacked out. When I woke up, I realized that the jet spat me out like chewed gum. Since that's our only ticket to Planet Gitaroo, we can't go until it stops."

U-1 sighed, "Oh well," he whispered an apology to Kirah and went back to Pico, where he saw something very unusual happen.

"Oh dear," Pico knelt down to get a closer look at a wilting flower, "what's wrong, little flower? Don't die on me now, I just watered you."

U-1 saw Pico close her eyes, she looked like she was concentrating, then suddenly the withered flower brought itself back up again. Pico opened her eyes again and giggled, happy that the flower was back to normal again. U-1 and Puma, on the other hand, were flabbergasted at what just happened.

"Did she-, I just-, she..." U-1 stammered and then shook his head, "It's best not to ask."

Kirah was practicing her Gitaroo, the same as always, trying to get stronger. She sounded a little off-key, and once she noticed this, she stopped. She looked at her Gitaroo, it was glowing dimmer and dimmer, a sign that she needed to rest to recharge her Gitaroo. She sighed and wiped any sweat off of her brow, then looked at her Gitaroo again, what was wrong with her? Why was she not getting stronger? She trained as hard as humanly possible, there should be no reason that she should not be getting better.

Maybe it was because she had no one beside her to play with her.

She looked up at the starry night sky, it was a full moon out tonight, and billions of stars were out tonight. She wondered if one of them was where Gitaroo Man lived.

"Wherever you are, Gitaroo Man," she said sadly, "I hope you're happy, that's all I ask. There's no use in wishing for something that will never come."

The former Gravillian warrior saw a black dot out the corner of her eye. She turned around and saw the black cat heading towards her.

"Ming Ming?" she said in surprise, she had not seen the kitty for a long time, and though she looked a little happy to see her, Ming Ming was not happy at all.

"What do you want?" the cat asked as she glared at her, "I have no use talking to a _traitor_ like you."

"I want to know what you're doing here and why." she replied, "It's been years since anyone has seen you, and you can't just randomly pop up like no one's business, especially in a place like this."

"And why not?" the cat hissed, "It's not like _you_ have any part in what I'm doing..."

"What are you talking about?" the Kirah asked.

Ming Ming rolled her eyes, there was no use escaping her when she started to ask questions, she might as well tell her. She really wanted to keep it a secret, too.

"Fine, if you're so nosy that you want to know...I plan on bringing my master _back_."

"WHAT!" she was shocked, "Are you insane?"

"Maybe," the cat replied with a grim smile that showed her sharp fangs, "anything to win the affection of my dear master, who was so distracted in YOU and..." she whipper her head to the Great Cathedral ahead, "...HIM, that he almost had no time for me, and the time he DID have was short, like a small pet or something. But when I finally resurrect him, he's bound to give me all the affection I need!"

Kirah was confused, was this all a plan so she can just get affection? Nonetheless, she was planning to bring back the biggest threat to happen on Planet Gitaroo, and she would not let that happen. She aimed her Gitaroo at Ming Ming and fired a small note at her, once it made contact, Ming Ming was knocked into one of the prison's walls.

"Oh, so you wanna play that way, huh?" Ming Ming growled, "Well, take this!" she retracted her claws and slashed the air at Kirah, creating a scratch-shaped Gitaroo beam that Kirah dodged, but barely. She was too tired to fight, but she had to stay alert.

"I am a warrior..." Kirah whispered, "I am a warrior..." she fired another beam, but Ming Ming dodged that as easy as anything. From there, she ran towards Kirah and fired another Gitaroo Beam at her, this time, the cat got a direct hit at her face, and, while Kirah was still stunned, she started to scratch the living daylights out of her. As soon as she realized she was too weak to fight, she got off her.

"What warrior loses to a cat?" Ming Ming spat, "You're just as pathetic as Gitaroo Man..." she took one last look at her and walked away, smiling at her first victory over the most powerful Gravillian warrior.

Kirah sighed; the last thing she saw before she went unconscious was Miranda rescuing her. She was relieved that she was now safe and sound, but sad that he saw her humiliating defeat. What would Gitaroo Man think of her now?

"I'm sorry...Gitaroo Man..." she said before she finally closed her eyes and slipped into unconsciousness.


	4. Chapter 4

Puma got that same uneasy feeling he always got when he was about to receive a call from someone. To avoid making Pico worry and Kazuya suspicious, he ran to inside the flower shop, went to the darkest corner there, since the lights were off, and allowed the message to be received without any problem. Once he got the message, Miranda's concerned face made Puma already realize that this was not going to be a good message.

"Puma, it's terrible! I went to go check on Kirah, thinking that she was probably training like she normally was, and as soon as I got there I saw her on the ground unconscious!" Miranda said very quickly out of anxiety.

"_What?_" the little pup said in shock.

"It's true! Get Gitaroo Man, we need him as soon as possible!"

He knew it! There _was _a reason he had that urge to call them the other day! He burst through the back doors and grabbed U-1's pant leg fiercely, any harder and they would have ripped.

"What? What is it, Puma?" the pup moved his head towards the shop to subtly say to go follow him. U-1 kneeled down to Puma's level, "What is it?"

"Meet me in the shop," Puma whispered, "it's huge; they need you on Planet Gitaroo!"

The two heroes went back into the flower shop and closed the doors and Puma immediately said, "Kirah is hurt!"

"What?" U-1 exclaimed in shock.

"Miranda called me not too long ago telling me that last night he found her unconscious with scratches and bite marks all over her body. He thinks that an animal may have attacked her that night."

"An animal?" U-1 was confused.

"This isn't the time or place to talk about it! We gotta go, U-1, tell Pico that you have to leave and meet me at your house!" Puma said before running out of the store to their house. U-1 went into the garden to talk to the pink-haired florist.

"Sorry I have to leave so early, Pico," he said quickly, "but my…aunt, she fell down the stairs and got attacked by a cat, she's in the hospital and it's really far away so I can't stay for long, I'm sorry, I'll talk to you later and I might buy something, bye!" and with that really frantic explanation he ran to meet up with Puma as fast as his legs could carry him.

Kazuya, who was talking to Pico at the time, looked at U-1 suspiciously, finally he said, "You know…I get the feeling that the punk's hiding something from us…I've known him for _years_ and I never heard of him having an aunt named Kirah…"

"Well, don't let get to you. Besides, if he was hiding something, he would have told us. Now come on, Dad will be here in an hour, do you want to go skating later?"

Kazuya nodded, be he was still suspicious. He decided to let it go for now and help Pico out with the shop until her father came back.

At U-1's house, Puma was trying as hard as he could to rev up the Woofer-Jet, but it just would not start, "Come on, come on!" he growled as he shook the steering wheel a little, "U-1, please check behind this freaking thing to see if there's anything wrong?" U-1 did, and he found a small pair of keys in the smaller cockpit.

"This thing is turned on by a key?" he muttered to himself. He walked over to a frustrated Puma and knocked on the cockpit door; once he got his attention he showed him the keys. He could not hear him, but by his mouth he could have said something along the lines of "Are you kidding me?" He opened the cockpit and grabbed the keys out of U-1's hands, "Get in the dang backseat," the dog said, _very_ unimpressed. As soon as U-1 did that they took off for Planet Gitaroo. U-1 felt something odd in his stomach as they were getting closer, what if they were too late? He looked out the window to check for any space sharks to distract him from his thoughts. An hour later, he saw the planet Gitaroo. A feeling of relief washed over him when they got past the clouds.

"Miranda's house shouldn't be that too far away," Puma said, "he _did_ say he would signal and…" he peered down to see a small man in a green robe wave his cane at them, "there he is!" he made a swift but graceful landing in front of Miranda and opened both the Woofer-Jet's doors, they then ran to Miranda.

"Is she alright? Who attacked her? Where are they?" U-1 said anxiously, wanting so bad to go in Miranda's house and check on Kirah.

"Save the questions, Gitaroo Man. Kirah should be waking up from a nap any time now, by then she can give you information on this whole thing."

U-1 went in the house to see Kirah asleep. She was battered, bruised, and had horrible scratches all over her as if she had been cut with a knife. U-1 looked at her in defeat, "I should have been there…" he said sadly, "If I was there, I would have helped you! I'm sorry, Kirah…" he looked beside the bed to see her Gitaroo grow a little brighter. Kirah opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was U-1.

"Gitaroo Man…" she said a little weakly, "You came back…" she smiled and hugged him, "You came back!"

U-1 was not used to girls hugging him, but he hugged back anyway, "It's good to see you again, Kirah, though not in this condition." He let go of her, "What the heck _happened_ to you?"

Kirah looked angry, "It was…it was Ming Ming. She's planning on bringing back Zowie."

"Are you serious?" U-1 exclaimed, "How? I thought I got rid of him for good!"

"We thought that, too." Miranda replied as he came in the door with Puma, "But there have been reports of him floating through space. However, this came out of a mouth of a cat that spends most of her day sleeping."

"Last time I saw her, she was heading directly to the Great Cathedral." Kirah said.

"Then let's go!" U-1 said as he got up and ran out the door, but before he could even touch the doorknob Miranda put his cane in front of U-1's feet, causing him to trip and fall, "Hey, what was the point of that?" he said as he rubbed his nose in pain.

"Neither of you are ready to go back in there." Miranda said, "You honestly think the place is empty?"

"Miranda's right," Kirah agreed, "it's way too dangerous to go in there…_he_ still plays the Gitaroo in there every night."

"He? Wait…you don't mean…" U-1 groaned, "Come on! I thought I defeated him too! What, are they all coming back as zombies and they want my brain instead of my Gitaroo? What's next a large robot that controls bats is going to come up into the clouds and attack that new city you guys have been telling me about? How was he brought back to life, by _magic_?"

"No one knows, I don't even think _he_ knows, Gitaroo Man," Miranda replied, "but I highly recommend not entering in the Great Cathedral unless you _have_ to. Rumors have been sprouting that anyone who enters that cathedral…"

Ming Ming looked up at the humongous doors nervously. This was the only way to enter the battle zone of the Gitaroo Arena, and it would not be a walk through the park. She exhaled and opened the doors, which swung open with great force; a loud creaking from them was a result. She froze; she had only meant to open them up just enough so she could get in. She tiptoed slowly in there as the doors closed on her.

…_never come out…_

The place was a pitch black save for the candles and the large sunbeam in the middle of the room. She was relieved that everywhere else was darker than night, thankful she was a black cat. She could hear the organ playing and it reminded her of when Zowie was still here, fueling her need to revive him even more. She smiled and continued to walk silently, but this time to the beat of the music. She looked up at where it was coming from and saw him, his white hair blocking his unusual eyes, but she could tell by how he was playing that he was hyper-focused on the music rather than his surroundings. It seemed like it was the only time he was ever really _happy_. She frowned when she realized that he really was _alive_, and that meant that as soon as he caught wind that Zowie was revived, he would be his strongest Gravillian warrior now that Kirah made a heel-face turn those ten years ago, and that meant that he would hog all of Zowie's attention. She continued to walk forwards, relieved that she was almost to the exit, however, her tail met the light and the organ stopped immediately. She knew from that moment on she was screwed. How could she have forgotten that the light was part of a security alarm that stops all music in the cathedral? It was too late to run away, Gregorio already knew she was here, so there was no point. She sat there, waiting for a response from the effeminate psychopath. Soon enough, she got her wish.

"You have a _lot_ of nerve, cat," he said, "coming in here when you _know_ you're not supposed to be here, so why bother?" he turned around to face her, when she saw his face for the first time in years, the word "understatement" came to mind when she thought how angry he looked. She froze in place, swallowing her fear, and replied.

"This IS my place too, you know? It doesn't seem right to kick someone out of their own home."

"Correction, Ming Ming: This _WAS_ your home. Your "master" isn't here anymore, and this is my Gitaroo, so you have no right being in here at all!" he used the clear blue platform to levitate down to ground level, "And if you _don't_ leave, I will remind you VERY painfully how much I _hate_ cats…"

Ming Ming gulped, but she held her ground and looked brave, "D-d-d-don't waste your strength on me…I'm just a little kitten…"

"BULL!" Gregorio snapped, infuriated. The strength of his anger awakened the Cathedral, and the Angles started aiming their arrows at her from behind their master. Ming Ming was in a corner.

"Y-You know…um…what…what _is_ that blue thingy on your shoulder? Heh heh, j-just curious…it looks weird…"

Gregorio did not respond, instead he lifted a hand to signal the Angels to stop, "You're overkill for this cat, sweeties~," he said to the Angels in a creepily friendly way, "go back to your space, Daddy's just angry at a little pest." As soon as they went away, he glared at the small black cat, "You have less than three seconds to tell me why the hell you're not leaving…"

Ming Ming had no choice but to tell him, he could spare her life if she did, "Alright, _fine_…I wanna try to bring Zowie back from the dead of space…He isn't really dead as some people may say, in fact, he's very much alive, but in a coma. The only thing that's keeping him from not dying is the magic from his Armored Gitaroo."

Gregorio was both shocked and delighted, but all that came from it was a smirk, "Are you _trying_ to win his affection?" he asked, "Because no matter what you do, it won't work. No matter what you do, you're just a cat, a little furry animal that is only there to keep him company with a few pets here and there. You're no warrior, there's nothing about you that impresses him…" Gregorio smiled wickedly, "Unlike me…"

"That's a LIE!" Ming Ming had it with him, "What about you? If you didn't have this Cathedral, you would be a useless piece of meat! Don't talk about how much of a waste _I_ am when _you_ refuse to even step FOOT out of this place!" her claws retracted, "I took down Kirah and I can just as easily take you down as well…" with that one comment, the entire Cathedral turned on and immediately after, an Angel shot an arrow laser at her, which she dodged in a reaction out of fear.

"Try me, cat…"

How this was a good idea was beyond anyone's guess, but Ming Ming successfully dodged the first few arrows before one of the Angels saw through the pattern and struck her right in the stomach as soon as she jumped to dodge, causing her to cough. Gregorio completely evaded her attacks, and even at one point _reflected _one against her. She got struck on her side when that move connected. As soon as she got up she saw Gregorio walk right in front of her.

"Had enough?" he said as one of his Angels aimed its arrow right at her head, "I'm feeling merciful, so if you're done, I can end this very swiftly for you…"

Ming Ming growled, she had had enough of him, and may as well fight dirty before he got a chance to kill her. She ran past him, but before she did that, she hooked one of her long claws right at his leg, shoved it in there, and swiped it, all so fast that Gregorio had no time to react, but felt the pain the second her claw made contact with his skin. The shock was enough to make him turn off the cathedral. Ming Ming successfully got away, not noticing the blood on her paw made an effective trail.

"The music stopped playing."

"What are you talking about, Kirah?" U-1 said as he helped put bandages on her.

"I could hear the music from the Great Cathedral from here…and it abruptly stopped. Something happened; Gregorio doesn't just end his songs so abruptly."

"If anything, Ming Ming probably got in there," Puma said.

"All the more reason to go in there…She's using the base of the Cathedral, the Gravillain headquarters along with the satellites near the Gitaroo Arena, to track where Zowie is." Kirah explained, "Those satellites can track anywhere in the universe, and is what Zowie used to follow you when you fought his people on Earth. If Ming Ming gets a hold of them, she'll be able to know the _exact_ location of where Zowie is and use that to her advantage."

"And here I thought she was a dumb little cat…" Puma muttered.

"Then we have no time to lose. Puma, Gitaroo!"

Puma transformed into his AC30 form and threw the Gitaroo at U-1, instantly transforming him into Gitaroo Man.

"Mind not doing that in my house?" Miranda said, "The lightning makes the electricity all funny."

"Sorry, Miranda," U-1 said sheepishly, "come on, you guys, we got a cat to stop!"


	5. Chapter 5

It was so long, Ming Ming had forgotten how much like a maze the way to Zowie's base was. Her heart raced as she ran as fast as her four legs could carry her through the deepest, darkest depths of the Great Cathedral, where she once lived the greatest life a little kitty could have. When Zowie was still around, he gave her as much affection as he possibly could. He even played with her. Even when he had his meetings where he would plan the destruction of Gitaroo Man he would give her little head pats or chin scratches as he talked, it was quite clear she was his only true friend. However, when he got more powerful and started recruiting more if his goons, she felt left out as his power started to grow and grow. Gregorio and Kirah crossed the line with her, and she secretly tried to find ways to get rid of them, however, their loyalty and Zowie's trust in them always made her plans fail. That was one thing she was grateful for Gitaroo Man about; he got Kirah to betray Zowie, leaving her with Gregorio. Unfair seeing as how Gregorio is a _very_ powerful Gravillian next to Kirah? Yes, but it was better than having _two_ very powerful Gravillians for Ming Ming to try and get rid of. It was quite clear that Ming Ming wanted Zowie all to herself and no one else, but right now she was more focused on resurrecting him more than anything.

It was a long way, but she finally got to the top of the Cathedral and saw the elevator that would take her to Zowie's main base where they would have meetings or track down Gitaroo Man's whereabouts. She walked to the doors and as soon as she stepped on the sensor the doors opened, and she ran to them as soon as they did. In the elevator she could see everything, she saw the clay buildings where the slaves once were kept in, now reduced to nothing but rubble. She looked closer and saw the inside of some of these buildings, since she never got a chance to actually go in them. She saw a bed made of stone, and a blanket that looked like it was made out of leather. In another room she saw a cage with chains hung all around it. What made her a little queasy, though, was one room with a bed made out of stone like the last one, but right next to it was a smaller bed made out of the leather usually used for the blankets. There was no mistaking it; that was the prison that a mother and a baby was held in, and it was covered in blood. Ming Ming was about to look away, for she could not take any more of this, when she saw two little figures run to the Great Cathedral and immediately hissed. It was Kirah and Gitaroo Man, and she now wished that she had not injured Gregorio so severely so they could be distracted by his power and rage. When they had made it to the iron gates, she made it to the top of the base, where the doors opened and she was re-introduced to the main headquarters of the Gravillians.

A sense of nostalgia washed over her as she walked into the room and the main screen lit up and gave a map to the entire Planet Gitaroo after greeting her with a large "Z" that took up a good amount of the screen. She jumped up on Zowie's chair, which was now cold from the lack of anyone using it, and used a touch screen that was basically a smaller version of the big screen up above. She touched the screen once and it responded by giving her a long, narrow rectangle with a blinking vertical line at the start of it. It was his search bar. She hopped up on to the controls and started to type with her little paws:

"ARMORED GITAROO_"

Meanwhile, U-1 and Kirah made it into the Great Cathedral with ease. A small bit of anxiety gave U-1 the chills as he was reminded of the memories of this place and what he had to do to gain access to it. The doors creaked as they opened it, and all three of them walked in with their Gitaroos armed, ready to attack anything that may come close to them.

"How odd...," Kirah said quietly, "normally he would attack right away..."

U-1 was getting suspicious, "Stay behind me," was what he said to the two before he slowly walked further into the Great Cathedral. He was just as nervous as the other two, but he defeated Gregorio once, he could do it again.

He walked a little more, and there was still nothing. He was starting to get a little calm as he thought that maybe, just maybe, Ming Ming did the job for them and defeated Gregorio herself. It was unlikely, though; she probably needed him for help in resurrecting Zowie. He slowly made his way to the middle of the Cathedral where he was greeted with a bright, eye-straining light. Memories came back as he looked into the light. He remembered Gregorio are being the hardest Gravillian he had to defeat because of the fact that the effeminate man's Gitaroo was the Cathedral itself, and that means he could find U-1 no matter where he was hiding.

He soon noticed his breathing was a little fast and his heart felt ready to beat out of his chest. Why was he so nervous? He had been in here before and it all looked the exact same... but something, _something_ felt different.

It was then he smelled the blood.

The heavy, deep, unwelcoming smell entered his nose when he took a few steps closer to the light. 'Why was there blood?' he thought, 'Was there a fight?'

His thoughts were interrupted by a small sound of his foot hitting a little puddle. Looking down, he discovered the crimson fluid underneath his foot. After recoiling said foot in disgust, he found the puddle had a trail that led towards the light he was already moving to. Curiosity overwrote his horror as he followed the blood trail.

"U-1, where are you going?" Puma said with more concern than curiosity. U-1 could not hear him, however; he was too concentrated on following the blood trail to see where it led. Kirah was just as concerned as Puma, looking around herself and U-1 nervously, her Gitaroo ready for anything that may pop out of the darkness. She looked back at the angels that lined the Cathedral and noticed something that made her heart skip a beat.

They were gone.

"No," she said quietly, "no, no, no... U-1... get out of there."

This time, the Gitaroo hero heard her and turned to face her just in time for a pair of heterochromic eyes to stare directly at him.

"What is it, Kirah?"

"_U-1, get out of there!_"

A pair of hands wrapped around U-1's neck and pinned him down on the floor faster than he could move. The shock caused him to drop his Gitaroo. When he tried reaching for it, the figure's leg kicked it away and pressed his knee on U-1's stomach, using all of his weight so he could barely struggle.

"U-1!" both Puma and Kirah shouted in unison as they started to rush to U-1's side, but they were stopped, surrounded by small cherubs pointing their harmless-looking arrows at them, not uttering a word but making their point clear: they were to stay where they were.

"You...," the thumbs of the hands around U-1's neck curled inwards and dug sharply into his neck, the long nails now acting as little knives, "Who are you to come in here... After all you've done to me! What more do you want from me...! What more could you _possibly_ take away!"

Strands of his white hair tickled U-1's face as he desperately pulled away his hands in futile, "Pu...ma...," he gagged, "Ki...Kira... hel...lp..."

"Oh, they can't help you now~," Gregorio raised his body a little, the light casting shadows on him, amplifying the insaneness of his already mad expression, "It's just you and me, friend. I don't need a Gitaroo to kill you, I got you right where I want you," Gregorio's lips pulled into an unsettling smile, "you have no idea how much I'm looking forward to decorating the Great Cathedral floor with your thick, red, blood!"

Puma could not take any more of this. Without thinking, he dashed over towards the two, ignoring the shots the Angels took at him, and ran right into the pit of Gregorio's stomach, forcing him to let go of U-1. Before the insane maestro could grab the mutt's tail the dog continued to run towards U-1's Gitaroo as fast as he could. If he did not give him his Gitaroo now, there would be a chance where he would revert back to plain old U-1, then he would be truly helpless. Just when he was about to get in front of the Gitaroo, an Angel blocked the way and shot an arrow right in between Puma's eyes, knocking him backwards and the wind out of him.

"Ugh," Puma staggered up and shook his head. When he opened his eyes again he was met with five more Angels aiming their bow and arrows at him, "Kirah!" he called out, "A little help here?"

"I'm a bit busy, too!" the Gitaroo girl replied, fighting back her own set of Angels that decided to attack her.

U-1 got up quickly but gently, his neck stung and he could feel blood running down it. He coughed a couple times and wobbled over to Puma, who was fighting off Angels. He saw his Gitaroo, it was so close and Gregrio's minions were all distracted by Kirah and Puma, he thought that this was the perfect opportunity. He picked up the pace and limped over to his Gitaroo.

"Mama, give me strength," Gregorio muttered under his breath. His hand started to glow a bright violet and he pointed his finger at U-1, causing a thin beam to shoot out of it and hit U-1 right in the back, giving the painful feeling of a thick nail being driven into his back. He stumbled forward and landed on his face, panting. Gregorio, ankle still injured from his last fight, limped up to him and drove the heel of his good foot into the spot where U-1 was hit by the beam, causing him to grit his teeth in agony, tears of pain running down his face.

"Had enough, Gitaroo Man?" he said, shoved his heel more into U-1's back, then smiled as his victim screamed in pain, "Yes... keep making those sounds... It's wonderful inspiration..."

He was so close, he had to get that Gitaroo, but every time he tried lifting himself up Gregorio would just keep him down with the back of his heel, driving it in deeper every time he did so. The man was insane, he did not want the Gitaroo, he did not want world domination, he just wanted U-1 and his friends dead, and if U-1 did not do something soon, Gregorio would soon get his wish. He looked behind him to make sure Kirah was alright, but something suddenly caught his eye. He saw that Gregorio's other ankle was injured and covered in blood, staining his otherwise spotless pants. He smiled a little bit, knowing exactly what he could do to get out from under Gregorio's foot. With one quick, sharp sweep, U-1 kicked Gregorio's leg. The sudden shock of the attack and the utter pain made the albino Gravillian give a sharp yell and fall on his knees. With this opportunity U-1 crawled towards his Gitaroo and finally get a hold of it. He was relieved when he felt the magic of his Gitaroo heal his wounds, especially his back, and he easily stood up.

The other two did not notice Gitaroo Man's success, but they soon did after they saw a purple beam shoot the Angels they were trying to fight. Alarmed, Kirah and Puma turned towards the source of the beam and smiled, "You got it!" Puma exclaimed, "Hurry, U-1, pluck off all of the Angels and finish Gregorio off!"

"Roger," U-1 nodded his head and struck a heavy chord at all of the Angels, reducing them all to stone one by one. Gregorio watched in horror as his Angels, his little servants, his children, reverting back to what they once were, "That should be all of them," U-1 then said, then walked towards Gregorio, glaring.

"...Wait," he said, raising a pale hand as a sign to halt, "I am not the one you want. I'm not the one trying to bring back Lord Zowie... Spare me..."

"What makes you think I want to spare the likes of you?" U-1 growled, "After you tried killing me twice and my friends once... I wanna hear your reason as to why I should not just finish you right here!"

"Because I know where Ming Ming is... The Great Cathedral is a large maze of a palace... If you don't know where you're going, then it may be too late once you finally find your way."

Puma was suspicious, "Why are you helping us...?"

"I am helping you because I hate that awful cat," he spat, "As much as I would love for Lord Zowie to return, I do not want that flea-bitten, mangy cat to be the one reviving him, he deserves someone better to be the one to bring him back."

"Should we trust him?" U-1 whispered to Kirah.

Kirah paused before nodding slightly, "He knows this place more than we do," she whispered back, "He's been in it longer..."

"What about you?"

"Even when I worked for Zowie I had a hard time getting around the place. He isn't kidding when he says it's a maze past the Cathedral point of the Empire. It was built that was to confuse intruders so people who _did_ know their way around it could seize them easier. I say we trust him just this once..."

U-1 reluctantly nodded, then turned to Gregorio, "Alright. Tell us where she is," he demanded.

"Where are you...?" the little black cat said to herself as she searched thoroughly for her master, "I located the exact direction you flew away after that pest Gitaroo Man defeated you, through dumb luck, I may add, and I still can't find you...," she was starting to sound desperate, "come on, Master... Show yourself."

A sudden loud beeping noise made her big ears perk up in surprise, "TARGET SPOTTED. RETRIEVING DATA," were the words that flashed on the large screen.

"Yes... Yes~!" she mewed ecstatically. She thought she would explode in a little puff of happiness when she saw the coordinates track Zowie's Armored Gitaroo. Her joy turned to astonishment when the coordinates finally read where he was.

"No way...," Ming Ming squeaked, "he's on... Earth!"


End file.
